Road Trip

Three days and twelve pounds later I return home weary from all the hospitality that was heaped upon me. It was a great but exhausting trip…they (my aunt, my cousins) nearly killed me with kindness. All that being waited on…hand and foot…attending to my every wish. It was unusual to be given that much attention, not something I am accustomed to at home. My #2 son and #1 grandson accompanied me on the drive to the old ancestral homeland with its bayous and moss filled trees…the land of my birth…the land that my parents grew up in.

This trip was different from the trips that I remembered as a child. Back then, on the family pilgrimages to see the grandparents, the entertainment was counting the number of cars of a particular make or color, reading the Burma-Shave signs and fighting with siblings over who got the window seat. The window seat was the best seat because the windows were always down, a summer-time necessity, as they were the only air-conditioning. You could stick your head out like a dog and let the wind pull at your face or move your hand like a bird’s wing changing the angle of attack to feel the invisible forces push and pull at your extremity.

There were no seat belts to cramp your style…standing up on the seat was no problem. After all these years many things have changed. The only rule, which has never changed, is the rule about asking; “Are we there yet?” This question is still not allowed to be asked every five minutes.

On this trip the entertainment was I-Phones and Blackberrys…texting and “checking in” on Facebook. Searching the “Gas Buddy” app for the cheapest fuel prices, Googling the nearest restaurants and bookstores. Consulting Google for our current position and any other superfluous question that arose. I felt like we must have stopped at ever Burger King and Dairy Queen for a royal flush. Now, Buc-ees is the new standard when it comes to world-class restrooms. No road trip should be without a stop at the place under the beaver sign. I love their bill-board which reads “ 2 good reasons to stop at Buc-ee’s … #1 and #2.” Their Beaver Nuggets????...I am working up the courage to try them. The name “Beaver Nuggets” congers up the image of beaver pellets. Well, maybe on the next road trip.

Thank you, Aunt Vivian, sister Diane and countless cousins, for the hospitality.
Thank you, daughter Jamie, for letting us borrow your air-conditioned car.
Thank you, son Jason and grandson Cameron, for being great traveling buddies.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for a safe and fun trip.
Amen